Gene Fullmer (1931)
}} Biography Family Life Fullmer had two brothers who boxed: Don Fullmer, who twice challenged for the World Middleweight Title, and Jay Fullmer, who boxed as a lightweight. Fullmer was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his living the tenets of his religion, especially the Word of Wisdom, was heavily covered in the press. It was also frequently mentioned that he was a father and that he paid tithing on his boxing winnings. Fullmer appeared in a cameo role in the 1968 film The Devil's Brigade as a Montana bartender. Fullmer is featured on the cover of the album Greatest Hits by Alice in Chains. Boxing Career Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout. His manager during many years of his career was his mentor, Marv Jenson, who encouraged many youth in West Jordan, Utah, to enter boxing as amateurs. Middleweight champion Fullmer won the world middleweight championship on January 2, 1957, when he upset the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson by soundly winning a unanimous 15-round decision. On May 1, 1957 they fought a rematch. The fight began as expected, with Fullmer using his strength and awkwardness to bull into Robinson and really force him onto his heels. In the fifth round Robinson, while backing up, lashed out with what has been called the perfect left hook. It caught Fullmer flush on the chin and knocked him out. In 1959, the National Boxing Association withdrew its recognition of Robinson as middleweight champion. Fullmer and fellow former middleweight champion Carmen Basilio fought for the vacant NBA title on August 28, 1959, and Fullmer won the crown when he TKOed Basilio in the 14th round. Meanwhile, Robinson was to lose his version of the middleweight championship to Paul Pender. Fullmer and Pender never met to settle their claims to the middleweight title, and Pender eventually retired. Meanwhile, Fullmer fought and turned back the challenges of many top contenders, such as Basilio, Spider Webb, Florentino Fernández, and welterweight champion Benny "Kid" Paret. He narrowly escaped being dethroned when he was held to 15-round draws by Robinson and future titleholder Joey Giardello. In their final meeting, a title bout in 1961, Fullmer beat Robinson by unanimous decision. Youtube Highlight Reel A number of his professional boxing matches from the 1950s are now on Youtube: * Gene Fullmer v Benny Kid Paret * Gene Fullmer v Florentino Fernandez Losing the title Fullmer finally lost the middleweight title to Dick Tiger on October 23, 1962 in a unanimous decision. They fought a rematch on February 23, 1963, which resulted in a draw. Fullmer's attempts to regain the middleweight crown finally ended when he was TKOed in seven rounds by Tiger on August 10, 1963. Fullmer's final record included 55 wins (24 by KO), 6 losses, and 3 draws. References * Gene Fullmer - Wikipedia * History of Gene Fullmer and Marvin Jensen, West Jordan History Pages * Biography and Fight-by-Fight Record, International Boxing Hall of Fame * Gene Fullmer - International Boxing Hall of Fame * Gene Fullmer Recreation Center - Salt Lake County Parks Facility in West Jordan. * Peter Fullmer Immigrant Ancestors - Famous cousins and ancestors